South Carolina Ports Authority CEO and leadership

Barbara Melvin is a Chief Operating Officer at South Carolina State Ports Authority and is based in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. She attended University of Tennessee Knoxville.

Mr. Padgett joined SCPA in June 2016 as Controller and is currently the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In this role, Mr. Padgett is responsible for the financial, risk management, and real estate activities of the SCPA.

Mr. Padgett is a Certified Public Accountant with ten years of experience auditing, managing finance and accounting operations, and developing short and long-term financial plans, budgets, and forecasts. He also has experience in the daily operations of insurance, investment, and real estate development.

Mr. Padgett began his career in public accounting in Charleston with Johnson Lambert, a niche focused CPA firm specializing in insurance. He spent over five years in the audit and assurance practice serving commercial and captive insurance companies. Prior to joining the Authority, Phil served as Controller for Kane (USA), Inc., an insurance management company that was purchased by a subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. around the time of his departure.

He is a member of the South Carolina Association of CPAs and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He graduated from Francis Marion University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and has a Master of Science in Accountancy from the College of Charleston.

Chief Simon joined SCPA in September 2002 as a patrol officer and was promoted to Chief of Police in June 2017.

In this role, Chief Simon manages the SCPA police department, which is comprised of civilian security officers, a dispatch center, and certified police officers.

Chief Simon began his law enforcement career with the Charleston City Police department as a dispatcher in 1994 prior to graduating from the Criminal Justice Academy in November 1994. During his career at the Charleston City Police department, he worked several different teams including the Detective division. He continued his career with the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office where he worked as a night shift supervisor for the County. Chief Simon has received commendations for Alertness, Adaptability, Officer of the Month, and Officer of the Year.

Chief Simon attended Trident Technical College where he graduated out of the Aircraft Maintenance Technology and Automotive Technology programs.